LIVERPOOL’S famous Lewis’s building is in line for a major makeover after the announcement that it has been sold.

Developer Merepark has bought a major slice of the landmark in a deal with existing site owners Capital & Counties.

Today they said the Grade II listed building would be to restored to its former glory, preserving its best known features including the Jacob Epstein statue, Liverpool Resurgent.

The company will submit a planning application next month for the redevelopment of the nine-storey, 420,000 sq ft building.

Lewis’s department store, which has been in Merseysiders’ hearts for 150 years, will continue trading as normal.

Its owners Vergo Retail said the building sale would help its own revival after buying the business and saving 208 jobs in May after receivers were called in.

The building’s sale complements the £160m Central Village redevelopment being carried out on derelict land behind Central Station between Bold Street and Renshaw Street by Central Regeneration – made up of Merepark and Irish developers Ballymore.

It was confirmed yesterday Central Regeneration has also acquired the Watson Building, next to Lewis’s on Renshaw Street, following on from the purchase of the Rapid paint store on the corner of Renshaw Street and Newington earlier this year.

The 600,000 sq ft Central Village development comprises a 25-storey tower and a 20-storey mid-rise building, 300 apartments, a four-star plus hot. A ground and first floor leisure and retail area will run alongside a spectacular water feature. It is expected to create more than 800 jobs.

Merepark director Richard Peel said: “These are two highly strategic acquisitions which will enable us to deliver a full regeneration programme for Central Village.”

“We look forward to a future in which the Lewis’s building will once again play a leading part in the lives of the people of Liverpool.”

David Thompson of Vergo Retail, owners of Lewis’s business says: “Over the past three months Lewis’s has gone through a revival. We’re confident the plans will see it develop as a vibrant retailer for many years to come.”

Lewis's story of success

Lewis’s was founded in 1856 by London-born entrepreneur David Lewis, who arrived in the city in 1839.

The Beatles played on the roof of the store on November 28 1962, and a young Paul McCartney worked there as a temp during the 1950s. It became a regular meeting place for John Lennon and his then girlfriend Cynthia Powell who would gather by the famous naked man statue, itself immortalised in the 1962 song In My Liverpool Home, by Peter McGovern.

Lewis’s looked likely to close last May after owners called in the receivers because of cash flow problems.

The store and 208 jobs were saved by a last-minute bid for the business by current owners Vergo Retail Ltd.